


Crumble

by pretendimanauthor



Category: SHINee
Genre: Implied/Referenced Character Death, No pairing - Freeform, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 23:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9630290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretendimanauthor/pseuds/pretendimanauthor
Summary: onew mourns autumnwarnings: sad, implied character death





	

The leaves crunch beneath Onew’s boots as he makes his way down the forested shortcut, towards the bookstore where he works. He looks down at his feet as he walks, concentrating on the variations of red and orange beneath his feet. The older leaves are more brown than red, and turn to dust when his equally brown shoes land on top of them.

Onew gazes at the trees above him, still covered with bright leaves. A couple flutter down, down, down to land on the tiny dirt path. All the warm, rich colors of autumn starkly contrast with the billowy gray clouds hanging in the sky. He wishes he had his camera on him, so he could capture the beautiful, sad distinctions between the dead leaves and the new ones, the dead sky and the new colors.

He suddenly envisions Jonghyun, and how he would sit at the dining table each day, eagerly waiting for Onew to bring him his newest photos. Onew would scatter the polaroids across the table, and direct Jonghyun’s hand to each one. He would describe each and every photo to the boy in great detail, explaining everything from how sunlight falls on mom’s blonde hair to the squawk the robin made just before he took its picture.

**Robin?**

**Yes, a robin.**

**What’s that?**

**Well, it's a bird. A very small bird. Its wings and back and the area around its eyes are all completely black. Black as the night sky. Remember that photo of the night sky I took?**

**Mhm.**

**Right, so those feathers are all black, but the rest of it, its chest and its head, are bright red. Very, very bright red. You know how a candle flame feels when you get too close to it? How it doesn’t burn, but it’s almost too warm? Shockingly warm? That’s how red the robin’s feathers are, Jonghyun.**

**_Wow_ ** **. That sounds amazing, Onew.**

Onew checks his watch and keeps moving.

He focuses on the scrunching of his boots, and tries not to think about how he would explain the reds and oranges on the trees and on the ground. He tries not to think about how Jonghyun loved to sit in the forest, listening to birds and tracing his fingers over tree bark and crumbling leaves in his palms. He tries not to think about the look of fascination and curiosity Jonghyun displayed every time Onew talked about seasonal color changes. He tries, he tries, he tries.

Onew kicks at the pathetic leaves that cover the secluded trail, and desperately searches for a sound, any sound to get his mind off of his brother. He doesn’t know how he’s going to make it through this if he has to keep remembering every minute detail, every insignificant thing that breaks his heart a little more each day, over and over and over again.

He can see the edge of the path. He picks up his pace, jogging to reach to his escape. Just as he crosses the threshold between fallen leaves and cracked pavement, he hears the unmistakable whistle of a robin. The flash of midnight black and fiery red perches in a tree only barely behind Onew’s line of sight.

He doesn’t look back.


End file.
